Playing their first three-team match of the season, the Cerritos College beach volleyball team secured three victories on Friday. The Falcons (6-3) earned wins over host Moorpark College (4-1), Riverside City College (5-0) and Bakersfield College (4-1). The team will travel against next Friday to take on both host Mt. San Jacinto College and Cypress College.

The day opened with the Falcons taking on the host Raiders and registered four straight set wins, with the #5 pair of sophomore Breanna Lizarraga (Paramount HS) and freshman Evelyn Soto-Castro (Schurr HS) locking down a 21-13, 21-7 win, while the #2 tandem of sophomore Monserrat Rodriguez (Gahr HS) and Rosie Cazares-Gonzalez (El Rancho HS) turning in a 21-7, 21-12 victory.

The other two wins in the match started with a close first set before they pulled away in the second set. Sophomore Brisa Cortez (Schurr HS) teamed with freshman Nayeli SalasOrtiz (Schurr HS) for a 21-18, 21-12 win in the #3 position, with freshman Herlinda Casanova (St. Joseph HS) and sophomore Juliette Casillas (La Serna HS) locking down a 22-20, 21-17 victory.

It was more of the same against Bakersfield, as Rodriguez and Cazares-Gonzalez posting a 21-8, 21-5 to get the Falcons started in their win. Cortez and SalasOrtiz followed suit with their 21-13, 21-17 win, while Lizarraga and Soto-Castro scored a 21-10, 21-4 win in the #5 match. Two of them went to a third set tie-breaker, with each time collecting a win. Casanova and Casillas won their first set, 21-18, but suffered a tough 20-22 loss, which set the table for their 15-7 win in the third set. The top pairing of sophomores Abby Gutierrez (Downey HS) and Aiyana Sierra (La Mirada HS) opened with a 21-18 win, but fell in the next two sets, 13-21, 13-15.

Riding the momentum of their first two wins, Cerritos finished off by sweeping the Tigers, which included three matches that went to a third set. Picking up straight set wins were Rodriguez and Casarez-Gonzalez (21-18, 21-10), as well as sophomore Lillianna Peterson (California HS) and freshman Margaret Norton (La Mirada HS), who win, 21-12, 21-8.

At the top of the ladder, Gutierrez and Sierra started off strong with a 21-8 win, but after a 14-21 loss in the second set, they picked up the win with at 15-12 decision in the tie-breaker. Cortez and SalasOrtiz also won their first set (21-10), but then fell, 13-21 in the second set before finishing off their opponents, 15-8. The only pair to lose the first set, Casanova and Casillas, they battled back from a 21-19 loss to post thrilling 21-19 and 15-11 wins to complete the sweep.